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Orange Crush Oatmeal (for Denise) inspired by The Walking Dead

Saturday, April 2, 2016

I swear it seems like I was just talking about the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead and the season 6 finale is TOMORROW already! TWD always concludes way to fast for me. Fortunately, it's one of the few shows that I can watch endless reruns of and still want more. So, in honor of the close of another amazing season and countless months of waiting for the new season, I'll be sharing a couple of recipes inspired by the show today and tomorrow.

It's always a tough decision deciding which scene and/or character to pull my inspiration from (because I have SO MANY ideas written down), but *SPOILER* I knew I'd be making something for Denise the minute that arrow poked through her beautiful face. Which I'm so bummed about; her character really started to blossom over the second half of season 6 and she was quickly inching her way closer to my favorites list. And who else can't stop thinking about Tara and how she's going to react when she gets back to Alexandria?
Dr. Denise loved her oatmeal. Every time she opened her mouth to talk about food, oatmeal was the subject. In episode 11, she hands Daryl an oat cake after his run with Rick...during which he and Rick come across a vending machine and wind up drinking an Orange Crush.

Fast forward to Denise's last stand in episode 14. She's out with Daryl and Rosita, leading them to a small pharmacy she remembered seeing when she first drove in to Alexandria. On their way back to the truck, backpacks loaded with medicine, Denise spies a cooler in a car and goes to investigate. There's a walker "guarding" the cooler, but after a very close call, she claims her victory...and that cooler...after which she loses the oatmeal that she had for breakfast that morning. But on the bright side—she's rewarded with an Orange Crush.

Denise is taken from us shortly after her small victory and an awesome speech meant to smack Daryl and Rosita upside the head (which it did). So, in memory of Denise, I made a bowl of oatmeal infused with the flavor of orange that is totally crush-worthy.

Orange Crush Oatmeal

This steel cut oatmeal infused with orange (peel, juice, blossom water and honey) makes a delicious and healthy breakfast.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: breakfast vegetarian orange orange blossom water oats

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cup steel cut oats

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon dried orange peel (or freshly grated)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water

2 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented

orange blossom honey, to taste

Instructions

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized pot; add the oats, orange peel, and salt. Bring back to the boil, then cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes.

Stir in the orange juice, orange blossom water, and orange segments. Sweeten with the orange blossom honey to taste.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to get another TWD-inspired recipe. It's a good one, inspired by something that makes me say "It's weird. It's weird. It's weird..." over and over again!

Michiana-based food writer with a fondness for garlic, freshly baked bread, stinky cheese, dark beer, and Mexican food—who believes that immersing herself in different cultures one bite at a time is the best path to enlightenment.

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